Monday, August 27, 2012

If this were a press conference I would firstly like to apologise to my sponsors (lol jokes I'm not popular enough to have any at the moment) and address the main question that I am not dead. No but seriously, sponsors would be great, I would actually feel more guilty when not posting for weeks on end. I seem to have lost my mind, found it again, and then left it in my pockets while sending it through the washing machine. The last few weeks have not been kind to me lately; I feel blue, my mind is black and I like my tea green. Tomorrow I am considering wearing all black to convey this darkness in my heart as well as a total contempt for colour (I must have really lost my mind or become too involved with goths and black lipstick these last few nights in my sleep). Sorry for being a bad blogger and not even doing anything exciting with my life, here have a photo set inspired by witches and magic. On another dark and magical note I finally bought a pair of Perks and Mini Fangs, a necklace I have longed to have for five or something years and cast entirely in brushed sterling silver. I can't wait till that arrives in the next few days so I can tie my hair up and let it glisten in the cooling Winter Sun.

To celebrate the start of another 'glorious' week I've worn all black today from head to toe with only a small voodoo-looking mermaid necklace thrown around my neck for a little charm and quirky creepiness. I wish I was writing tales of enchanting mermaids this second rather than entailing the charmingly-boring interactions of photosynthetic algal blooms in the oceans along with the viruses that poach them. When I signed up for a marine biology essay topic I thought I'd be discussing more of the romantic and serene scenes of corals bursting with life and seaweed swinging from side to side with every crashing wave rather than funny little men in white lab coats doing experiments on tiny organisms. That's science for you I guess, sucking the fun out of every environment that can hope to be magical and mystical ancient times.

Too young and afraid of tattoos, tried to give myself a manicure with tiny creepy evil eyes all over my nails a few months ago to this same effect but the results failed miserable and I also broke two nails this week so everything is as lop-sided as my schedule balancing between studies, blogging and work. I'm oppressed by desires to own great jeans, Kawaii leggings and fur coats at the moment as well as the burden of competitive nature and academic drive towards excellence. All I really want to do is harvest herbs and rocks while painting my nails with a high-powered camera as a companion for shoots; is that really too much to ask? Oh, and how cool is they eyeball/ arrow combination tattoo? I'm normally not a fan of the whole evil eye paraphernalia but I really dig this scene of sisterhood tattoos and secret feminist cults with super powers vibe. (I think I watched too much Sailor Moon last year and soaked up the impression it is possible to be a teenage girl crime fighter at night and average student by day...)

I've been absent in my state of mind to blog as well as take care of my own body with the simplest application of lip balm to prevent chapping in the Winter chills. Combine that with the small habit of nervously biting my own lip and chewing off skin into pink sores and you get the above image minus the blog and lovely white pearly teeth. I have remembered to brush regularly without flossing but there won't be any public exhibitions of close ups of my body anytime soon for the public to enjoy; no, I'm more like the eccentric silhouette trying busily to harvest ingredients for my spells and potions.

I've managed to reach this perturbed state of mind where I blame everyone for not being there for me but also attack them in very indirect sniping comments and all the while want to shroud myself in as many layers of clothing as possible and survive on hot cups of tea without heating... because we all know that's what witches do. I think somewhere in my subconscious I've managed to muddle the definitions to old crazy lady with a few hundred cats and witch, but that's all the beauty in getting lost in the English language part of the time. Everything is getting lost in translation once it passes my ears and reaches my brains except for that looming word of procrastination and the over bearing weight of a Biology essay due in a week or two.

There's a heart-warming moment when you realise just how big a come back the grunge movement has made when those cheap plastic choker necklaces are worn on girls so astonishingly and presumably beautiful to be professional models. Also there's honorable mentions to the statement Pegasus/ unicorn ear stretched in gold as well as those gnarled nails of claw-like hand on the top piercing sitting beside lilac hair partially silver in a dreamy moon-like light. Yeah, it's for this reason that I've loved watching Daria, that angsty but dead-pan cartoon of a teenager for the stereotypical fashion club exploiting 'bad fashion'- everything that's cool now like stone-wash jeans, leggings, loosely pinched beanies as well as bewitchingly dark lipstick. Yum.

I'm not magical enough to have received my letter at the tender age of eleven, but

I was a big jewellery snob throughout high school and sort of refused to indulge in cheap and nasty mass-produced designs from local stores at the mall and settled for only precious metals, but at the moment I'm toying with the ideas of no longer fuelling big fashion price tags with my hard earned cash and instead becoming a DIY obsessed poor university student. Mixing up a wardrobe of vintage and thin golden rings as well as kitsch rescued plastic beads would be lovely to wear at work, were I in any position to really express myself. A few extra hours outside of university would be a great loop hole and escape from the usual routine that seems to break my heart so often, but I'll have to continue to work around science as well as creativity battling it out in my throbbing brain time and time again.

I stumbled across this photo set on that wonderfully vague photo-sharing site aimed mainly at youths but also for porn-addicts, Tumblr, which had a strange emphasise on black on red with blue backgrounds which didn't seem to do the freckles of this young buck of a male model but it kind of suits. Those star-crossed eyes as well as sun burnt tinges across his cheeks and forearms only seem to contrast more starkly against those tangled little tendrils of red hair in the shape of flames as well as hand-made devilish wings with a crisp but slightly worn red polo shirt and sweater vest. Oh to be young and still think sweater vests are cool and socially acceptable...

Monday, August 6, 2012

I know it's a little cheesy to share an advertisement on my blog, but when I first saw the Dior Addict campaign starring young starlet Daphne Groeneveld it hit me just how attractive she is- it's as if all of time and space stood still while I was mesmerised and glued to the television and my mother lamely called my name over and over. If I wasn't a straight girl I probably would have fallen in love with her on the spot. The screening also made me realise just how boring and mundane my life must be in comparison to hers... despite being a year younger than me. I feel cheery and energised despite my run of bad luck and bad moods; this advertisement is flirty and fun and I think channeling a little Dior spirit wouldn't hurt my social skills either. It's been a while since I last set foot in a department store but I'll be sure to coast by the perfumes and peruse their wares from other fashion house brands as well.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

I never did like that Hillary Duff girl, but I am willing to acknowledge her existence long enough to proclaim that the Josh Goot collection is precisely what dreams are made of and I would willingly kill say, a children's prized teddy bear in order to wear one of these stunning silk blazers with colourful floral motif or the leather mid-length skirt made all the more showy with stitched petals of roses sewn into the rich, buttery material. At a time in which I was still coming to grips with my love of vintage clothing, a scarf-printed silk bomber was at the top of my hit list of things to buy and style, but this renewed take on an old favourite is leaps and bounds ahead of its predated ancestors with a mature finish and artistic finesse. That leaves me plenty of room to wear thick golden chained necklaces or tribal carved jade necklaces with the bomber for a bold statement of identity expressed through fashion as well as impeccable taste. Well I would... if I had the funds or indeed knowledge of wear to buy such an elusive and wonderful bomber jacket.

The splendour and snap shots of Sydney's fashion week seems so long ago, but already off-duty models were proudly strutting around town in stiletto heels along with Josh Goot vests of the purple and aqua persuasion. There was a darker take and more greens used with their own styling, but I think you get the general picture of just how awesome their outfits wore when the intricate army of purple roses along with jagged borders clashed together at about the waist of the models. There's something wonderfully practical about the nature of this vest; many times have I seen fellow students around campus with bulging vests from survival stores but the appeal of alpine peaks in its design as well as deep-sea colours makes it seem so much more attractive than its hiking counterparts.

Black lipstick is such a charming and becoming thing to wear, especially when the clothes have a chic 1970s Earth mother appeal about them. I've probably been scrolling over too many pages from Rookie Magazine lately, but the elegant silken pants tied off with contrasting burnt orange chord are exactly the sort of thing I've been busily searching for online. Alas, vintage pieces often come with tiny waists that I'm too statuesque to squeeze in to but the swirling colours of dark blue and orange come together well in the minimalist setting for the Josh Goot photo shoot. Sometimes the final choice of place and setting of photography can be as important as the overall styling of the clothes themselves when it comes to the fickle fashion industry.

The Avant Garde printed roses aren't as glaringly bright or apparent on this pencil tight skirt, but the aesthetic of the collection is nicely carried throughout the collection in its entirety and there's something very wholesome about its unison. I always feel a bit frustrated when designers don't stick to a theme with a new release or line of clothing- many ideas all expressed at once poorly don't really measure up to clear and clever execution. I expect nothing less from Josh Goot though, the playful mixture of colour is dazzling as always, but it does break my heart that the cost is always in the range of some hundreds of dollars for a single piece and a poor university student such as myself must hold out.

If there was one piece that ever light up my eyes to bulging Blythe doll proportions it would have to be this swish but simple silken black tee with white rose motif. It seems so simple and intuitive in design but the luxurious execution that Josh Goot brings to design really takes the design to a whole new level; I can see it worn with loose flared Levi's jeans, American Apparel disco pants and a whole variety of weird and wacky bottoms rescued from the local opportunity shop and all the while remaining classy, fresh and elegant. My love of this piece in particular also coincides with a recent addiction to pouring over carved rose necklaces from pre-ban elephant tusks (despite the fact I love elephants) as well as turquoise jewellery inspired by Mexican traditions. I want to meet this lovely top, take it out on a nice dinner, grow old with it and possibly be buried with it. It's that rare and lovely a piece I would literally wear it to death.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

"This award is all about discovering new blogs, and helping blogs with fewer that 200 followers be recognised. How lovely!"

- I am far too lazy to do this properly, so these are my answers to FlorenceScarlet of The Prosperous Flower.

1. Where in the world would you most like to visit? Why?
I'm dreaming of escaping to Japan; as well as a rich culture and history behind it there are so many quirky girls in outlandish outfits to photograph everyday. There's also the challenge of trying to communicate in a region where English isn't the first spoken language as well as a sink-or-swim situation in which learning Japanese fast is a necessity. I've been pretty obsessed with Kawaii trends including big headed Blythe dolls, dressing up and clashing patterns and drinking tea by the bucket load in order to stave off hunger between lectures. The land of the rising sun is cool, young, hip and has the Studio Ghibli Museum awaiting my arrival along with many plastic curiosities to collect and anime animals... it makes my mouth water already.

2. What are the 3 staple items in your wardrobe?
I can't survive without wearing a toasty duffel coat made of wool and in Navy to wear in this chilly Melbourne weather, my mother bought it for me and the last twenty-four hours have been a traumatic struggle in which I left it in our work place's tea room and my mother insisted that everyone I worked with was a dirty, penny-pinching scoundrel and thief.

Although I have felt elated with gorgeous photo shoots in which new bell bottom pants have been manufactured as well as traditional denim Levi's flares from the 1970s worn with gypsy and frilly white cropped tops I'm more at home when I wear skinny jeans that hug around my legs shaped with hours of running a week. I'd love to be more of a wild child and burnt out on vintage trends of bygone era but I don't quite admire the thick waist bands of today's newly made bell bottoms and vintage flares in my size, i.e. that aren't grossly petite and small are the holy grail of clothing in my world. That, and a good pointy witches hat.

All week long I have proudly worn a hand-knitted scarf made with love from my boyfriend's maternal grandmother from that belonged to wool of his deceased paternal grandmother. I've only owned it for seven shirt days but I really do love it's soft woolen texture, the fringed effect at each end as well as the deliberate knots that would have taken a novice such as myself many hours to perfect. That's one good thing about being 'adopted' so readily by someone else's family, they can be loving and polite to you without the actual dysfunctional nature of a real-working family. I was pretty delighted to hear from our most senior member at work as well as my boyfriend that miscommunication amongst family members is quite ordinary and part of everyday life.

3. What is your favourite book?'Johnny and the Bomb' by English author Terry Pratchett is by far the best and easily engaging book I've come across; I love time travel in general and the plot revolves around a mad lady with a time machine/ shopping trolley that a young school boy stumbles across with a gang of unlikely lads and female protagonist that changes her name routinely. I've read widely across Pratchett's work and he mainly writes about the imaginary world of Disc which sits on top of four elephants on the celestial sea turtle the great A'Tuin. Johnny and the Bomb though is more science fiction and also features some war time history for me to digest a little, Johnny is lovable and he apologises when ladies run over his heels with shopping trolleys and is generally the perfect pacifist. He's just a bit adorable mess really.

4. Your favourite film?
I'm actually embarrassingly out of touch when it comes to film and being cultured, but a text I was forced to study during Literature was really something special and stands out in a meaningful way which is always comforting; Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian women coming to gripes with seclusion from her family while suffering in the Western world as well as a patchwork of feminist ideals. The movie is actually based on a couple of comic books she released and the movie is an animated biography of Satrapi's life from her childhood to adulthood. It wasn't all about political bloodshed of her family or the war in Iran, I was touched by her struggle of living in a Western world and finding her sense of identity. When I'm feeling low, I watch the short clip of her once again working out, maintaining her personal hygiene and singing Survivor's, 'Eye of the Tiger'.

5. Necklaces or rings?

Rings! Reading the December 2009 Issue of Vogue Australia changed my life for the better when New Zealand Model Zippora Seven shared her own personal style of ripped tights, Dr Martens boots and feminine dresses with the editors as well as an eclectic mish-mash of rings. I feel naked when I've run out of the house without them and mainly wear some on my left thumb and forefinger but my favourites are Alex Monroe Daisy Chain ring, Stolen Girlfriends Club Bow Ring and Meadowlark stud ring in silver. I can live without wearing necklaces and don't feel vulnerable without them, but I do like wearing them for a bolder statement and injection of colour for styling outfits for this blog.

6. Your favourite perfume?I've always wanted to own Viktor and Rolf's Flowerbombmoney at that right time I am still fruitless in my search for that sweet floral bouquet. I don't pay much attention to perfume anymore; I wore perfume religiously while in high school and not being tied down to any particular man (i.e. being without any dates or boyfriends and alone) but it seems like an awful lot of effort these days when there is no real reason to try and attract the opposite sex anymore. My mood is invigorated with a good cup of flavoured tea rather than a spritz of scent around my neck and collar bones.

7. Describe your daily routine?I wake up at about seven each morning, get a bus at about eight and am at university for a good portion of the day. Those rare occasions when I am not catching a bus at eight I study and go over notes until I do have to leave and sometimes bring my laptop with me to blog tirelessly or watch episodes of Daria. I work part time as a basketball referee so some days I head home and then get ready for that generally ready to collapse into bed. I miraculously manage to blog in between and collect images and write down what I wear in my Bambi diary so I can stage them at a later date when I'm free from this usual daunting schedule and when my hair tends to look better. I enjoy a good cup of tea with lemon, painting my nails and listening to music repetitively so I in turn, ruin the experience for future reference. That about sums my life up at the moment.

8. Why did you start blogging?I started blogging to sort of catalogue all the wonderful brands of clothing I came across, collections as well as images I inspired me as a neat and carbon friendly way of recording the way I felt in pictures about the world around me and then it became progressively centred around fashion. It's been a while since I last staged my own photo shoots on here but I enjoy doing that now as well as wearing my clothes with a bit of finesse and flair channeled into my everyday boring routine. It's a nice release to come home with aching legs, a hot cup of tea in front of me and a keyboard to thoroughly massacre and mash with surgical precision every now and then and when I do have money I can always return to buy those pieces that I did love so much. Blogging is my own personalised diary/ catalogue of all the best bits I come across, mainly through the Internet. It also places me in a remote and safe place to discover like minded people and discuss/ share ideals about clothing and style as well as personal life experiences and that is pretty cool if you ask me.

9. Where would you like to be in 10 years time?In ten years time, I imagine myself retired in a small English village solving murder mysteries with potted plants in the front yard and a dozen or so cats. A small bicycle to cart these cats around and to pick fruit would also be cute and fit in with this quaint cottage picture and prematurely-retired vision. The world's fastest Internet connection, a high capability of images to upload and a web page layout which a mere mortal such as myself can navigate would all be frightfully wonderful but in ten years time I will have to simply be content with moving out of home with a nice guy and perhaps working as an accessor of jewel quality for a New Zealand brand such as Nick Von K and garnering a collection of hand made jewels that use animal motifs as well as Oujia board pointers and skulls.

10. What is your favourite food?I've been really obsessed with Nutella lately since I came back from a few days away on the beach (in Winter) with my girlfriends from high school; when I'm in automatic zombie mode I have instant coffee and Nutella on toast before my brain can function properly and my eyes switch on properly. If this questionnaire hasn't impressed on you enough, I am an uncultured and typical hipster- not embarrassed of it or proud either but maybe one day I'll embrace this secret side of my life and style.

11. Your favourite flower?I enjoy a good set of orchids, or failing that, tiger lilies. Arum lilies are unorthodox, but it's still sweet when my boyfriend brings me some to work and I have to wait till the end of the shift to bring the home or even his assembled fake flowers with pink ribbons.